The Return of the Crazy Demon-Chapter 242: The Way They Ate Was No Different

I stood beside the villains, facing the Sect Leader.

“Before we part ways, can I say something?”

Im Sobaek answered on behalf of the group.

“Yes.”

The Beggars’ Sect Leader glanced around at us and began to speak.

“It’s rare for me to gather juniors like this, so just bear with me. This time, when Cheonak’s group attacked, thankfully, we didn’t get pushed back. That’s because...”

He pointed at me.

“...because the Lord of Haomun carried me on his back and ran.”

“......”

“I didn’t understand at first why he ran. But the Lord of Haomun bolted at a considerable speed. Cheonak and his group had to use light footwork to chase us down. Only after they caught up and he put me down did I realize his intent. When I stood face-to-face with Cheonak after having been carried comfortably while he sprinted the whole way... I didn’t lose ground for a second. That’s when I understood. I used to think I didn’t need help from juniors, but perhaps that was a bit arrogant. The Lord of Haomun is still weaker than Cheonak, but I was certainly helped.”

Im Sobaek nodded.

The Beggars’ Sect Leader continued.

“It was a valuable experience. I learned that locking yourself away to train martial arts isn’t always the answer. Going forward, if the Martial Alliance needs me, don’t hesitate to call me. You too, Lord.”

I gave a slight nod.

“Yes.”

The Beggars’ Sect Leader chuckled.

“Even if you all become stronger later, don’t grow arrogant. I know listening to an old man ramble is tiring, so let’s part here. Everyone’s got things to do. Take care.”

Once Shin Gae’s ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) brief speech ended...

The juniors all clasped their fists toward him in unison.

“Take care, Senior.”

Amid the flowing words of farewell, I met the Sect Leader’s gaze and smiled.

Shin Gae gave the group a few relaxed nods, waving his hand. But when the juniors’ farewells dragged on too long, he abruptly turned and left first.

As I quietly watched Shin Gae’s back fade away, a voice rang out from somewhere—Noshin’s.

“Master.”

Shin Gae finally turned and looked at Noshin.

Noshin stepped forward and bowed deeply.

“I will take my leave.”

Shin Gae replied shortly.

“You’ll learn a lot from the Alliance Leader. Don’t bring shame to the Beggars’ Sect.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Things are different when you’re in the Martial Alliance. Dress properly and act cleanly from now on.”

Noshin’s face twisted miserably.

“Yes, sir.”

Shin Gae stared at his disciple a moment longer, then gave a small nod.

“We’ll meet again.”

Once Shin Gae departed, Noshin lowered his head as if he had been expelled from the Beggars’ Sect and couldn’t rise for a while.

No one spoke—the mood had turned too heavy.

It occurred to me that telling a beggar to “dress cleanly” was essentially the equivalent of expulsion in other sects.

Since no one else helped Noshin up, I went over and grabbed his arm to pull him to his feet.

He already had an ugly face, but with tears streaming down, he looked even worse. I had a lot to say to him, but just looking at his expression killed the mood for scolding.

Still, I said it.

“Why the hell are you crying? Try surviving the Martial Alliance for a bit. If you do a good job from the middle, the Beggars’ Sect won’t have any issues. The Martial Alliance won’t either. Keep an eye on both sides. Got it?”

Noshin looked at me and nodded.

“I got it.”

The Beggars’ Sect Leader is someone who forgives. But the Martial Alliance Leader isn’t. I figured I didn’t need to give life lessons to someone older than me, so I just patted his shoulder.

“See you again.”

Noshin, perhaps feeling ashamed of himself, tapped the back of my hand and rejoined the Martial Alliance members.

Im Sobaek looked at me.

“Lord, I owe you. Though the Senior brushed it off lightly, it couldn’t have been an easy fight.”

He’d already grasped how tough it must’ve been. Saying it was easy would’ve been pure bravado, so I let it pass.

“Senior.”

“Hm?”

“I wasn’t going to tell the Alliance Leader this, but...”

I looked around at the Martial Alliance members and raised my hand.

“Did anyone bring the wanted list?”

A man stepped forward and asked,

“Do you mean the wanted posters?”

He held them out. I looked at the first one and instantly waved it off to the left.

“‘First Sword of Dongho’? That’s too big a force, and we’re too few. Dongho’s too vast. Next.”

As the man set that one aside, another came up—‘The Loner’. I waved again.

“Hard to track someone who moves in the shadows. Next.”

Then came a bounty known as ‘Flying Guest’. Another dismissive wave.

“Too little information.”

Finally, one came with a relatively detailed description and plenty of notes.

“Western Fiend, Mulungja.”

It wasn’t the Western Mountain Seoak (like Mt. Huashan), but the Western Evil Seo-ak, so I was relieved. I reached out for the poster of the Western Fiend Mulungja.

“I’ll take care of this one on the way back. Give me the advance payment.”

“Excuse me?”

The Alliance member looked at the Alliance Leader, and Im Sobaek called someone over.

“Commander Gong.”

“Yes, Alliance Leader.”

“Give him the advance.”

“Yes, sir.”

The man called Commander Gong stepped forward, opened his pouch, and began counting out silver coins.

“...The recovery period is one year. If unclaimed by then, where should we process the execution?”

“If there’s no word, deliver it to the Mong Family.”

“Understood.”

Beside me, the Lecher looked shocked, but I didn’t bother looking his way. I accepted the silver coins and tucked them into my pouch.

After robbing the Martial Alliance of some cash, I looked at the Alliance Leader.

Im Sobaek seemed amused as he looked at me and let out a dry chuckle.

“You’re quite good at extortion.”

“I was a little short on travel funds.”

“I should’ve bought that tripe stir-fry earlier.”

“Exactly.”

As I exchanged stares with the Martial Alliance Leader, I glanced around at the members.

“Anyway, we’ll apprehend this man, the one known for stealing peaches from this utopia. Martial Alliance folks.”

No joke—it really said in the notes that the nickname came from rumors of him stealing peaches in paradise.

When I boldly declared we’d capture the bounty, the Alliance members all gave us a collective clasp-fist salute.

“We leave it to you.”

“Indeed.”

After I returned Im Sobaek’s courtesy, he saluted us again.

“Lord, Sword Demon, Master Yukhap, Young Master Mong. Until next time.”

He even knew the Second Son’s alias perfectly. Only after we parted from the Martial Alliance did we look at each other.

The Lecher looked at me and opened his mouth.

“Wait, why—”

“Shut it.”

I cut him off immediately.

“We get the bounty, extort some money, gain fame—what’s not to like? Catch the guy, earn renown, make money—it’s a win-win.”

The Lecher responded.

“No, I mean, why the hell are you billing my family?”

The Drunk clicked his tongue beside us.

“Shut it already. So stingy...”

“Stingy?!”

The Lecher looked at the Sword Demon, who spoke in a solemn tone.

“If you ask for the bounty payment back after requesting to apprehend a wanted man, the Mong Family will be shocked. It’s not a gambling debt or some tab at a brothel. They’d think the second son finally came to his senses. Why’s a rich young master acting so petty?”

With the Sword Demon and the Drunk backing me up, I clicked my tongue and looked at the Lecher.

“You stingy bastard. Let’s go.”

The Drunk asked me,

“How much did you get?”

“No idea. They gave a lot. Let’s just spend it all on the road. You have to burn bounty money to really enjoy it. Should we buy a carriage?”

“They gave you that much?”

“Well, I’ll add some of my own money too.”

“Didn’t you say you were broke?”

I sighed and looked at the Drunk.

“I lied, obviously. And you believed it. God, you’re hopeless. You’ve got the face of someone destined to get scammed. Why don’t you ever doubt what people say? I mean—”

“You’re full of shit.”

That finally shut him up. As we walked, the Sword Demon asked,

“How was Cheonak?”

“Way out of my league. I survived thanks to Senior Shin Gae.”

The Sword Demon’s face turned serious.

“That bad?”

I wasn’t in the mood to play agony aunt for martial worries today, so I just frightened him a little.

“He was terrifyingly strong.”

While the Sword Demon was lost in deep thought, the Lecher spoke up from behind us.

“We haven’t eaten yet. Master, aren’t you hungry?”

“...Goddamn it.”

I stopped and glared at the Lecher before waving my hand and turning.

“Let’s eat first. I found another great spot.”

With no real destination, we headed back to that same tripe stir-fry restaurant the Alliance Leader had just visited. I shoved three fearsome villains into the humble eatery and looked around.

Just in case those bastards had trailed in some unnecessary riffraff—or some remnants of that scholar sect were watching me—I instinctively scanned the area before entering.

When I walked in again, the owner looked startled.

“You’re back?”

I nodded.

“I think business here’s about to boom. That man from earlier was the Alliance Leader. Word will spread fast. One large tripe stir-fry, three bowls of rice, and some liquor, please.”

“Ah, yes!”

Still looking stunned, the owner returned to the kitchen.

Before the tripe stir-fry arrived, we passed around the wanted posters. I was slightly unsettled by how naturally the three were analyzing them.

So natural...

Former martial criminals from a past life calmly reviewing the current bounties. It was absurd.

The owner brought over the liquor first and, glancing at the posters, said,

“Oh, you must be from the Martial Alliance. Thank you for your service.”

I exchanged glances with the villains.

“......”

I tapped the poster with my finger and asked,

“This one’s a vicious bastard. Ever seen him?”

“Hmm, can’t say I have. But if I do, I’ll notify the Martial Alliance right away.”

“Please do.”

I gave the owner a serious look. Having such a grave conversation made me feel like I really was part of the Martial Alliance.

The four of us sat silently, arms crossed, waiting for the tripe stir-fry.

“......”

It was one of those moments where someone ought to say something sentimental like “Thanks for sticking with me,” but none of us could stand that kind of cheesy nonsense, so it was left unsaid.

“......”

The silence dragged on, but no one felt like breaking it. I glanced at the poster again, nodded slightly, and finally spoke.

“Senior, I got my hands on a sword manual. I’ll bring it to you later. I don’t have it on me now.”

“I see.”

There’s no need for thanks between us. It was a rare manual, sure, but I got it, so I’ll hand it over. That’s all.

Only when the tripe stir-fry arrived did our mouths start moving.

“Oh, it’s here.”

“Damn, that smell.”

“Looks like a big portion.”

“Let’s eat.”

After ordering tripe stir-fry three times today, my stomach felt like it was swirling with intestines, so I went for the booze first. I was already full, so I just sipped my drink while watching the villains eat.

Now that I thought about it...

I’d watched both the Martial Alliance Leader and the top fighter of Baekdo eat today.

Now I was watching villains from my past life eat.

They were all men who ate well and enjoyed their meals.

There wasn’t much difference in the act of eating. Whether righteous or villainous, the look of delight in front of good food was the same.

The Sword Demon asked me,

“Aren’t you eating?”

I nodded.

“I had plenty earlier. You should eat up, Senior. Bet you’ve never had stir-fried tripe before. What do you think?”

He tilted his head and asked,

“How did you know? It’s my first time.”

I answered plainly.

“You don’t seem the type who’d go around eating this kind of stuff. What a country bumpkin.”

“Hahahaha!”

The Lecher burst out laughing, then quickly stopped himself.

“...Sorry.”

The Sword Demon looked at his disciple.

“Eat plenty.”

“Yes, Master.”

As they dug in, the owner came out with a sealed bottle of Dukang liquor and placed it on the table.

“This one’s on me today.”

I clapped and responded.

“Ah, much appreciated. Fine stuff.”

The owner smiled and gave a small bow.

“Please enjoy.”

After unsealing the Dukang, I poured myself a cup. Then I subtly glanced back to ensure the owner wasn’t watching. I locked eyes with the Drunk. He, still chewing, smoothly pulled out a silver needle from his robe.

I dipped the needle into the liquor and nodded.

“Clear.”

Then I returned the needle and poured a round for the villains. We exchanged brief looks and nodded.

The Lecher pointed at the stir-fry with his chopsticks.

“Damn, that’s well done. The rice is disappearing.”

As the villains continued eating, I slowly took in the aroma of the Dukang, then downed it in one gulp.

My chopsticks moved on their own toward the stir-fried tripe.